ZyXEL HomePlug PL-100 review
It’s not the most exciting of products to talk about but it’s very functional. If you’re in an office or at home where you want two computers networked up but you don’t want the hassle of cables laying around, calling out for someone to trip over them, then the Zyxel Homeplug is a great solution for powering up your home network. Design |
| We’ve gushed over several products on Unbeatable, but we’ve got to give it to you straight on the Zyxel PL-100 – it’s not going to win any beauty pageants. This isn’t because it’s the John Merrick of the network world, but more because it’s just very plain and basic. What you get is a small silver topped box, surrounded by a black grill, measuring 112 x 106 x 28.5 mm and weighing 185.8g. At the front on a slight downward slope are four green buttons that indicate the Zyxel PL-100 is switched on. And at the back you’ll find the slot for the power cable and another slot for the Ethernet cable that attaches to your computer. |
| Setup/Installation |
| Setting up is simple. You need to plug in the power cable into your electrical socket, and the USB cable into your computer. Then do the same to the other computer you want to communicate with. Once your computers are on the two PL-100’s will start talking to each other. You might have to configure your IP address but that’s something that you have to do with any networking device or wireless network. |
| Features |
| Powered by HomePlug Turbo Technology, the ZyXEL PL-100 can achieve data transmission rates of up to 85Mbps covering an area of up to 300 meters. The frequency band it covers is 4.3MHZ – 20.9MHZ. The PL-100 allows up to 16 PL devices to communicate on one single network and each Powerline Ethernet adapter can support up to 15 remote Ethernet addresses making it ideal for homes or small businesses. |
| Performance |
| The ZyXEL Powerline PL-100 allows you to completely network your computers and devices without cables. It really is a case of connecting the ZyXEL HomePlug PL-100 to your power socket, and the electrical power lines are transformed into a house-wide network infrastructure. It means an end to drilling holes in the walls for your cabling to go through or having to move your PC computers around to accommodate. With this you’ll always have a power point where your computer is. What you get is a really quick exchange of data, so you can surf the web, access your email or send files really quickly. Because of the 56-bit Data Encryption Security (DES) capability, the PL-100 provides secure Internet access and allows file sharing. However the only drawback is if you share a building that’s on the same electrical network you could have others accessing your network. But having said that you get two neat boxes that get your two computers talking to each other faster than Buzzby. |
| What's In The Box? |
| Two ZyXEL Powerline PL-100 devices, two power cables and two Ethernet cables. |
| Overall Opinion |
| When it comes to homes or small businesses the last thing you want is cables lying around waiting for someone to trip over them. Which is why these ZyXEL devices are great. They’re really easy to set up and with in no time at all have your computers networked up and communicating with each other. It’s not cheap but then it does mean not having to get the vacuum cleaner out afterwards to clean up the dirt from cabling and you can set up the network anywhere. |
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Pros + Very easy to set up + Instant networking + Works anywhere |
Cons - Not so good if you live in a flat or share the same electrical circuit as others - Security could then be an issue |
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Overall Rating 
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By Babita Wakelin
5/10/2006 at 3:38:60pm
5/10/2006 at 3:38:60pm
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